Bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) means generating electricity, heat or fuel from biomass, such as wood pellets, crops or waste, and capturing the carbon dioxide released so it can be piped and stored permanently in rock formations, usually under the sea. Plants absorb CO2 as they grow, so if the carbon from burning them is locked away, the process can in principle take CO2 out of the atmosphere overall. That is why BECCS is counted as a form of carbon removal.
Drax and the UK position in 2026
Drax Power Station in North Yorkshire, the UK’s largest biomass plant, has long been the main candidate for power BECCS. Its four biomass units now operate under a government-backed low-carbon dispatchable Contract for Difference running from April 2027 to March 2031. Drax reports a strike price of £109.90/MWh in 2012 prices for about 6 TWh a year. That contract pays for biomass generation, not carbon capture.
In its 2025 annual results, published in February 2026, Drax wrote off the £47.6 million it had capitalised on its UK BECCS project. The company said the political environment and the lack of a suitable regulatory framework made the project unlikely to go ahead in the short to medium term. Drax still describes BECCS as a long-term option.
Why it is contested
- Supporters’ case: national net zero modelling relies on some engineered carbon removal to offset emissions from sectors such as aviation and farming, and BECCS also produces electricity.
- Critics’ case: the net benefit depends on where the biomass comes from, how quickly forests regrow and emissions from harvesting and shipping. Some studies argue that burning wood creates a carbon debt lasting decades.
- Oversight: in 2024 Ofgem found that Drax had reported inaccurate data on the sourcing of some wood pellets, and Drax paid £25 million into Ofgem’s redress fund. Ofgem said it found no evidence that the biomass was unsustainable.
Read more: Biomass energy: how it works, where it is used and the debate.